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Stewards of God An examination of the Terms OikonomoΣ and Oikonomia in the New Testament

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2009

Wilfred Tooley
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Extract

Dr J. Jeremias has rightly observed that Jesus ‘was never tired of expressing the central ideas of his message in constantly changing images’,1 and that he ‘loved to speak of his mission in the various figures and symbols which depict his calling to be the deliverer’.2 Likewise Dr Riesenfeld in an essay on the ministry in the New Testament begins his inquiry from the premise: ‘We are … justified in beginning our investigation of the ministry with Christ Himself.’3 It remains true, however, that of the many images Jesus used to describe His mission to Israel, most are not used by the Early Church and only two metaphors receive any sustained development. These are the metaphors of the steward and shepherd. The purpose of this article is to trace the development of the former and to explore its associations, and its implications for the Early Church's understanding of its own ministry and leadership. We will, therefore, note the literal occurrences of the terms steward (oἰκoν⋯μoς) and stewardship (oἰκoνoμ⋯α) and then examine briefly their metaphorical uses and the associated ideas and terms.

These are the only occurrences of these two terms in the Synoptic Gospels and clearly they are literal though the settings call for comment.

Both Luke 12 and Matt. 24 reveal secondary features showing how the parable has been recast to suit the hortatory needs of the Church.

Type
Research Article
Information
Scottish Journal of Theology , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , March 1966 , pp. 74 - 86
Copyright
Copyright © Scottish Journal of Theology Ltd 1966

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References

page 74 note 1 Jeremias, J., The Parables of Jesus, London, p. 89.Google Scholar

page 74 note 2 ibid., pp. 96–97.

page 74 note 3 Riesenfeld, H., in The Root of the Vine (ed. Fridrichsen, A.), London, 1955, p. 98.Google Scholar

page 75 note 1 Quoted by J. Jeremias, op. cit., p. 45.

page 75 note 2 J. B. Lightfoot, St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, London, 1876, p. 166.

page 75 note 3 Lagrange, M.-J., Épitre aux Galates (Études Bibliques), Paris, 1918, p. 96.Google Scholar

page 76 note 1 J. Moffatt, 1 Cor. (M.N.T.C.), London, 1951, p. 23.

page 76 note 2 Munck, J., Paul and the Salvation of Mankind, London, 1959, pp. 148–167Google Scholar, traces this theme in great detail. On 4.1–2 he writes, ‘The emphasis is on God and Christ … the decisive fact about the leaders is that they are serving God who works through them’ (p. 160).

page 77 note 1 E. B. Allo, 1 Cor. (Études Bibliques—2me édition), Paris, 1956, p. 69.

page 78 note 1 Gerhardsson, B., Memory and Manuscript, Uppsala, 1961, p. 311.Google Scholar

page 78 note 2 Titus 1.9.

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page 79 note 1 1 Peter (2nd edition), London, 1947, p. 219.

page 79 note 2 F. W. Beare, 1 Peter (2nd edition), Oxford, 1958, p. 160.

page 80 note 1 J. Moffatt, op. cit., p. 115.

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page 81 note 1 This interpretation is of course fully in accord with the ‘apostolic consciousness’ ascribed to Paul by J. Munck (op. cit., chs. i, ii) and O. Cullmann, Christ and Time, London, 1957, part iv, section 2. Cullmann comments, ‘The apostle knows that his office carries forward the divine redemptive process in a special way. … We can scarcely conceive his apostolic consciousness in too strong a way’ (p. 223).

page 81 note 2 M. Dibelius, An die Kolosser, Epheser, und Philemon (H.z N.T., vol. xii, 3rd ed.), Tübingen, 1953, p. 75.

page 81 note 3 T.W.N.T., volume V, p. 154.

page 81 note 4 C. Spicq, Les Epitres Pastorales, Paris, 1947, p. 21.

page 82 note 1 Suggested by Dibelius, M., Die Pastoralbriefe (2nd ed.), Tübingen, 1931Google Scholar. Quoted by Easton, B. S., The Pastoral Epistles, London, 1948, p. 135.Google Scholar

page 82 note 2 G. F. Moore, Judaism, quoted by Davies, W. D., Paul and Rabbinic Judaism (2nd ed.), London, 1955, p. 149.Google Scholar

page 82 note 3 W. D. Davies, op. cit., pp. 225–6.

page 83 note 1 ibid., p. 145.

page 84 note 1 E. G. Selwyn, 1 Peter, p. 242.

page 84 note 2 ibid., p. 242.

page 84 note 3 Barrett, C. K., The Pastoral Epistles, Oxford, 1963, p. 12.Google Scholar

page 84 note 4 ibid., p. 45.

page 85 note 1 Many examples of this can be found in Strack/Billerbeck, e.g. vol. I, 151, 736–7.

page 85 note 2 Luke 11.52 (cf. Matt. 23.13) and Matt. 16.19.